Touring Cambodia

Chiang Mai to Aranyaprathet by Motorcycle

     by Glenn Black

Chiang Mai to Aranyaprathet

There is the way down Hwy 1 through Lampang and then by Hwy 11 on to Uttaradit, but it amounts to a lot of two-lane with truck traffic to contend with. After which, there is scenic travel over to Loei via Ban Pai, Chat Trakan and Dansai and I know these routes well. Otherwise, further South of Lampang on Hwy 1 there are possibilities to head east via Hwy 12 picked up at Thoen or Tak, then to Sukothai / Pitsanaluk / Lom Sak / Khon Kaen and then cut south.

It is such a long damned way to get to Aranyaprathet. In the end, I opted for fast 4-lane and went straight down Hwy 1 to Singburi and picked up Hwy 33 east at Saraburi. Hwy 33 provides more or less a straight shot east to Nakhon Nayok, Kabin Buri and Sakeo where I decided to stay overnight.

Map of Thailand
Map of Cambodia

Sakeo, Thailand

Sakeo is about 45 km from the border crossing at Aranyaprathet. Sakeo has a nice night market if you arrive on the right day (I believe a Friday or Saturday) There appear to be several hotels in Sakeo but the nicest is the River Hotel located as you leave Sakeo on Hwy 33. Look for it in the left about 500 meters after the Caltex Station. They have WiFi in the restaurant and the place is very well run. Safe parking for a bikes and nice dawgs. The staff are friendly and helpful. The price is about 650 baht a night for a deluxe room with breakfast.

There is other suitable lodging in Aranyaprathet. I found this out when I arrived in Aran the next day and prepared to check out of the kingdom. Then I learned that my tax sticker had lapsed on my DRZ-400 a few days earlier. I had to return to Sakeo to take care of this detail at the 'Consong Rotit' a few kilometers west of Aran. I found the place and the ladies took care of me in record time (under 10 minutes). I paid the tax and got the new sticker for my bike and headed back for Aran - and by now, being afternoon, I decided to see what Aran looked like these days and booked a room in the old Interhotel.

Aranyaprathet, Thailand

For about 14 years the tiny border town of Aran became a boom-town during the Cambodian refugee crisis starting about 1979 and lasting until 1993. I had first seen 'Aran' in 1980 when I briefly worked for an NGO based in Sakeo and ran logistics for their medical team. By the time of the repatriation of the Khmer refugees in 1993, some 350,000 Khmer (Cambodian) refugees were living in camps in and around Aranyaprathet.

Aran became the logistics hub in support of all those activities as well as the considerable Thai military presence. Today, little of this remains in evidence, and Aranyaprathet seems to be just a larger agricultural town - but basically, its economy was jump-started by the Cambodian holocaust.

When I last departed Cambodia in November 2000 and entered Aran, there was a nice restaurant run by a Thai lady and I wondered if she were still there. Initially I didn't find the 'Phuen' but then noticed a small Thai restaurant called the 'Thip' that looked nice. It turned out to be run by the same lady and is downscaled version of 'Phuen' and a really nice place. You can find this street by leaving Hwy 33 and driving into Aran until you reach a 'T' intersection. Turn left and drive through the business section. The 'Thip' is on the right-hand side near the end of the street where businesses begin to fade. The street ends on Hwy 33.

On to Poipet, Cambodia